ESI Designhttp://www.esidesign.com
ESI Design helps clients create engagement and shared value through the design of physical, digital and social experiences.Wed, 16 Aug 2017 21:15:58 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.1Play Interactive Games by ESI Design and Many Other Game Designers at Come Out & Play New Yorkhttp://www.esidesign.com/blog/play-interactive-games-by-esi-design-and-many-other-game-designers-at-come-out-play-new-york
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/play-interactive-games-by-esi-design-and-many-other-game-designers-at-come-out-play-new-york#respondThu, 06 Jul 2017 20:46:06 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=8532

ESI Design is excited to participate in the Come Out & Play Festival New York and be lead partner for Family Day on July 22. If you haven’t yet heard of Come Out & Play, this annual celebration of urban gaming brings people together through competitive live action games and, not to mention, it is free to attend! More information about the festival can be found here.

Read on to hear about the fun we have planned.

Come Out & Play After Dark

The 2017 Festival kicks off with Come Out & Play After Dark, an evening of night games, on Friday, July 21st in DUMBO, Brooklyn. After Dark transforms the Manhattan Bridge Archway Plaza and the surrounding neighborhood into a giant arcade through a mixture of social party games, large physical video games, and wild new street games. Some games use new technology like smartphones, while others rely on old-fashioned tech like rubber balls – but they all offer new ways to play and have fun. From small indoor games to outdoor public spectacles, After Dark turns your Friday night into a playful adventure.

What to Play at After Dark

Lost in Time: Players use a smartphone app to role play as crack journalists and track down all-American poet Walt Whitman, who has become unstuck in time and lost in DUMBO. It’s a live-action, interactive story that weaves together DUMBO’s past and present. Created by ESI Design.

Come Out and Play After Dark Event Details

Come Out & Play Family Day

On Saturday, July 22nd, Come Out & Play Family Day will take over Nolan Park on Governors Island for a day full of original family-friendly games, designed specifically for families and children of all ages (including teens and child-at-heart adults). Family Day is brought to the festival by ESI Design, with original games designed by ESI and other game designers. All games will connect together with a fun storyline about Time Travel – complete with an official Time Travel Agency, games throughout time, postcards to the future, and imminent threats to the space-time continuum.

What to play at Family Day

Revenge of the Third Rail: Millions use the NYC subway system every year, but they are just passing through. What about the full-time residents of the subway system? Now’s your chance to identify with some of the most hated, lowly, and misunderstood creatures of NYC — subway rats! Collect as many tossed-away treats as possible, avoid the train, and survive at all costs! Created by ESI Design.

Tough Bubbler: Think you’re tough? How fast can you run, bounce, and roll through a wacky obstacle course — while inside a giant bubble? It’s the bubbliest event on the planet! Created by ESI Design.

Come Out and Play Family Day Event Details

Swing by one of the events in the Come Out & Play Festival and say hi to our team – we hope to see you there!

]]>http://www.esidesign.com/blog/play-interactive-games-by-esi-design-and-many-other-game-designers-at-come-out-play-new-york/feed0eBay joins ESI Design to talk AV Design at InfoComm, June 14http://www.esidesign.com/blog/ebay-joins-esi-design-to-talk-av-design-at-infocomm-june-14
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/ebay-joins-esi-design-to-talk-av-design-at-infocomm-june-14#respondMon, 05 Jun 2017 20:38:33 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=8438Keeping a corporate campus feeling fresh and on-brand can be challenging in a static physical environment. eBay will join us at InfoComm on June 14, 2017, to discuss how they have used AV in their lobby experience to support interactive and data-driven storytelling.

This four-part session “Big Canvas: Creative – eBay HQ’s Corporate Campus” will give attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the business and communications needs, creative development, technology and final execution of eBay Main Street.

Then Lars Kongshem, eBay’s Director of Corporate Digital Experience, will join the stage to discuss eBay’s need for a collaborative mixed-use space on their San Jose corporate campus. With real business and communications challenges facing the brand, Lars will uncover how a new 20,000sf building became a flexible corporate communications tool, with large AV canvases supporting interactive, data-driven narratives that positioned eBay as a technology-first company.

The discussion will continue with Emily Webster, another ESI Design Senior Designer and AV Technologist, who will explain further the multidisciplinary design approach required to create eBay Main Street as a fully immersive branded environment. She will dive into the AV design process and the systems implemented at Main Street including multiple displays, customized to fit the architecture.

The session will conclude with a conversation between eBay, ESI Design, Dave Haynes of Sixteen:Nine, and questions from the audience.

This talk takes place as part of the InfoComm education conference, in the Digital Signage track.

Are you heading to InfoComm in Orlando?

]]>http://www.esidesign.com/blog/ebay-joins-esi-design-to-talk-av-design-at-infocomm-june-14/feed0New Yorkers Become Subway Rats in Large-Scale Outdoor Game Created by ESI Designers, June 3-4http://www.esidesign.com/blog/new-yorkers-become-subway-rats-in-large-scale-outdoor-game-created-by-esi-designers-june-3-4
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/new-yorkers-become-subway-rats-in-large-scale-outdoor-game-created-by-esi-designers-june-3-4#respondThu, 01 Jun 2017 22:11:03 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=8420New Yorkers will see the world through Pizza Rat’s beady little eyes this weekend (June 3-4, 2017) when “Revenge of the Third Rail,” a large-scale, outdoor game created by ESI designers debuts at FIGMENT NYC.

The team of Chris Niederer, Senior Designer, Physical Design at ESI Design, and Debra Everett-Lane, Director of Content & Activity Design were named one of ten winners in the FIGMENT Dream Bigger competition, the annual participatory arts festival held on Governors Island.

The competition challenged designers and artists to invent art experiences that are highly interactive, involve a large group, are visually stunning, and have a provocative concept. Each winner was awarded a $1,000 grant to further develop their project. ESI Design is pleased to support “Revenge of the Third Rail” which celebrates Niederer and Everett-Lane’s game design and participatory art skills.

“Revenge of the Third Rail”: What to Expect

Millions of people use the NYC subway system every year, but they are just passing through. Have you ever thought about the full-time residents of the subway system?

Through “Revenge of the Third Rail” everyday New Yorkers will have a chance to identify with subway rats – some of the most hated, lowly, and misunderstood creatures of NYC – by stepping into their shoes (or bodies).

The stars of the game are the rats. Players will use small carts built to resemble the front half of the animals, but scaled up to accommodate a human. Your senses are altered, so that you can experience the visual and tactile senses of the animals first-hand.

But it’s more than just an animal experience — it’s also a race along the subway tracks! The goal is to collect as many tasty, tossed-away morsels as possible, while dodging obstacles and avoiding the subway train that is barreling down the tracks.

The game accommodates up to four players at a time (two rats and two people manning the subway car) and lasts about five minutes, allowing more than 50 people to play per hour. Players waiting on line participate by tossing the prop obstacles (dropped cellphone, baby rattle) and morsels (soft pretzel, doughnut, etc.) onto the tracks to entice or distract the racers, and stomping their feet as the train pulls into the station.

Event Details

10am to 5pm
June 3 and 4, 2017
Colonels Row area of Governors Island
FIGMENT NYC is free and open to the public
For complete event details, please visit FIGMENT NYC.

See you there!

]]>http://www.esidesign.com/blog/new-yorkers-become-subway-rats-in-large-scale-outdoor-game-created-by-esi-designers-june-3-4/feed0The Workplace Is The New Communications Platformhttp://www.esidesign.com/blog/the-workplace-is-the-new-communications-platform
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/the-workplace-is-the-new-communications-platform#respondWed, 17 May 2017 20:21:15 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=8256

Ed Purver, Senior Designer, Creative Technology at ESI Design, shows how corporate campuses can be transformed into experiences that immerse employees and visitors alike in a company’s brand story, for Work Design Magazine:

When you think of corporate communications, you probably picture traditional channels ranging from public relations, advertising, and social media to staff newsletters, intranets, and similar channels.

Now look around you. Chances are, you’re looking at a powerful communications platform that businesses often overlook: their very own workplace.

Nowadays, when you walk into a store that’s filled with static imagery, it doesn’t feel alive. That’s because sweeping technological advances have created a digital world where we expect well-designed spaces to offer dynamic, interactive experiences that immerse us fully in a brand. Why should our expectations be any different for the workplace?

The same technology that is making it possible — and more affordable than ever before — to make retail environments more immersive can and should be employed by companies to design and create workplaces, offices, and corporate campuses that serve as dynamic communications tools. Physical spaces are woefully underutilized as a means for businesses to share their story; by tapping into their potential, companies can convey their company brand and values to both employees and visitors alike, connecting and engaging with them like never before.

]]>http://www.esidesign.com/blog/the-workplace-is-the-new-communications-platform/feed0Debra Everett-Lane talks about activating the audience’s museum experience at AAM’s Marketplace of Ideas, May 8http://www.esidesign.com/blog/debra-everett-lane-talks-about-activating-the-audiences-museum-experience-at-aams-marketplace-of-ideas-may-8
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/debra-everett-lane-talks-about-activating-the-audiences-museum-experience-at-aams-marketplace-of-ideas-may-8#respondWed, 26 Apr 2017 19:16:53 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=8142If you are looking for ideas on how to activate your audience within the museum experience, meet with Debra Everett-Lane, ESI Design’s Director of Content and Activity Design at the 2017 American Alliance of Museum’s (AAM) Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo.

Debra will be presenting at the Marketplace of Ideas in the NAME section at 3:00pm.

Attendees will be invited to participate in a group activity that ESI designed for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute of the U.S. Senate. Cloakroom Conversations is a card game where participants act as senators and work together in a behind-the-scenes strategy session to create a balanced bill. The name Cloakroom Conversations represents the space where Senators discuss and debate issues (and get most of the real work done) in private conversations away from the Chamber floor.

Event Details

Catch Debra in the AAM Marketplace of Ideas in the NAME section (adjacent to the MuseumExpo floor, look for the ESI Design banner)
3:00-4:00pm, Monday, May 8, 2017
America’s Center Convention Complex, St Louis, MO

We’re excited to announce that ESI Design’s installation at Terrell Place in Washington D.C. has won Gold at the APEX Awards for best immersive environment.

The APEX Awards

The 14th Annual DSE APEX Awards are designed to recognize achievement in the installation of digital displays, interactive technology and the creation of compelling viewer content. Gold winners receive the highest honor. An independent panel of industry professionals chose winners from a field of 138 entrants from 12 countries, vying in 9 major digital signage categories.

ESI Design: the Immersive Environments Gold Winner

ESI Design worked with the owners of Terrell Place, Beacon Capital Partners, to transform the ground floor lobby space into a contemporary and exciting work destination. To create a truly immersive environment, we seamlessly integrated 1,700-square-feet of motion-activated LED displays into the architectural surfaces of the lobby.

In addition to the displays, ESI also designed custom lighting, sound and media content to deliver a cohesive multi-modal experience. For example, some lights change color temperature to reflect the media that is playing. The environment is further enhanced by ambient sounds emerging from invisible speakers in the walls and ceiling creating a fully immersive environment for visitors to experience.

The displays are an ever-evolving artwork that creates a sense of place and reacts to the presence of people. The Seasons content mode is quite popular as it connects Terrell Place with its Washington D.C. neighborhood including its iconic cherry trees.

Check out the final results here:

How the Seasons Mode Responds to People

The Fall Seasons mode begins with the lush green leaves of late Summer, which slowly transform into a vibrant landscape of yellow, orange, and red, then start to drift to the ground. The leaves change color as people walk by, and butterflies flutter above people who pause to watch. Passing through a doorway causes a gust of wind to rustle the leaves on nearby branches, so that some fall and swirl with the wind.

In the Winter cherry blossom mode, tree branches are bare and snow flurries circle the landscape. As people pass by, icicles grow and the snowfall increases. Where people stand still, frost appears, like frost on a window. Eventually the snow and icicles begin to melt as we move back into Spring.

See more of Terrell Place

Read more about our work at Terrell Place and if you are looking for a way create more immersive environments for your building, we can help. Get in touch.

]]>http://www.esidesign.com/blog/esi-designs-work-at-terrell-place-wins-best-immersive-environment-award/feed0Emily Webster talks at SEGD Branded Environments, March 28http://www.esidesign.com/blog/emily-webster-talks-at-segd-branded-environments-march-28
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/emily-webster-talks-at-segd-branded-environments-march-28#respondWed, 15 Mar 2017 21:43:47 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=7971If you are wondering how a physical space can transform a brand story into a brand experience, join senior designer and A/V technologist Emily Webster at SEGD Branded Environments on March 28, 2017.

What to expect from Emily’s talk

This session will be a deep dive into digitally integrated branded environments, one of ESI Design’s specialties across retail and corporate campuses. Emily will talk about how to use physical spaces as a corporate communications channel and transform a brand message into a brand experience. She’ll show how we did this for eBay’s corporate campus in San Jose, CA, and using it as a case study, discuss best practices for how to seamlessly integrate branded digital content into the architecture of a mixed-use space.

Are you heading to SEGD’s Branded Environments conference at DSE?

]]>http://www.esidesign.com/blog/emily-webster-talks-at-segd-branded-environments-march-28/feed0Visiting Terrell Place for National African American History Month in honor of Mary Church Terrellhttp://www.esidesign.com/blog/visiting-terrell-place-for-national-african-american-history-month-in-honor-of-mary-church-terrell
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/visiting-terrell-place-for-national-african-american-history-month-in-honor-of-mary-church-terrell#respondFri, 24 Feb 2017 18:21:34 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=7932

A Heritage Trail Stop: Terrell Place

Terrell Place is a dedicated stop on the city’s ‘Civil War to Civil Rights’ heritage trail and is named after civil rights activist and NAACP founding member Mary Church Terrell. It’s also the former site of the Hecht’s department store, where Terrell, at age 88, led a months-long protest in 1951 against segregation at the store’s lunch counter, with weekly sit-ins at the lunch counter and picket lines.

Mary Church Terrell Exhibit

Terrell was a central figure in the ongoing struggle for equality for all, and her history-changing work is now commemorated in a powerful way with the 2016 redesign of the Mary Church Terrell Exhibit. A prominent marker on the corner of 7th Street and F Street celebrates Terrell and includes historic context and photos of the famous boycott that took place at Hecht’s.

Click to enlarge. Caleb Tkach

Inside the main lobby of Terrell Place (entrance on 7th Street), a graphic installation allows visitors to learn more about Terrell’s impact on the Civil Rights movement. Through the corridors linking the building’s entries, visitors will also hear ambient soundscapes inspired by Terrell. Many of the pieces Terrell cited as having been impactful in her life have been included, such as Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn, Hiwatha’s Wedding Feast and Deep River – 24 Negro Melodies both by Samuel Coleridge Taylor. These soundscapes are original compositions by Bruce Odland and add to the immersive environment created by ESI Design.

Terrell was a determined advocate of civil rights, gender equality, education reform, and the new exhibit at Terrell Place is a lasting reminder of her contribution to and inspiration for fair treatment, perseverance and courage everywhere.

Share your Terrell Place experience

Let us know in the comments if you visit Terrell Place or use the hashtag #TerrellPlace.

]]>http://www.esidesign.com/blog/visiting-terrell-place-for-national-african-american-history-month-in-honor-of-mary-church-terrell/feed0Main Street: eBay’s New Front Door For Employees and Visitors At Their Corporate Campushttp://www.esidesign.com/blog/main-street-ebays-new-front-door-for-employees-and-visitors-at-their-corporate-campus
http://www.esidesign.com/blog/main-street-ebays-new-front-door-for-employees-and-visitors-at-their-corporate-campus#respondMon, 05 Dec 2016 15:08:34 +0000http://www.esidesign.com/?p=7685We’re so excited to share with you eBay’s reimagined Silicon Valley corporate campus Main Street, which serves as the company’s new front door following its separation from Paypal.

Take a look inside Main Street in this video:

A dynamic new hub for eBay’s corporate campus

Main Street is a 20,000 square-foot hub and welcome center which immerses eBay’s employees and visitors in the company’s culture, community of users, and volume of products sold through a series of interactive data visualizations.

Technology is the lifeblood of eBay and the new building is a physical manifestation of it, using displays and dynamic media installations in various steps of size and scale to tell the brand’s digital stories.

We’ve developed a coherent, coordinated corporate campus experience, and a new communal gathering place that is inspiring, engaging, fun, and interactive.

In the words of Wendy Jones, SVP Global Operations, eBay:

“You’ve taken our data and you’ve turned it into stories, about people, about the products on our site, about just the vastness that is eBay as a global community, and really brought that to life in a special way.”

Dave Haynes from digital signage blog Sixteen:Nine came to visit ESI Design at our New York studio and spoke with Michael Schneider, senior experience designer and creative technologist.

Michael took Dave on a studio tour showing him the ESI LAB with some of our most recent prototypes, research and developments for upcoming projects.

Together they discussed ESI Design’s approach to experience design and media architecture, and what goes into creating the big, interesting, and memorable digital canvases that are capturing the world’s attention and imagination.